The people I have known that love golf, tell me one of the main reasons they fell in love with the game was they were always competing against their personal best. One of my favorite movies about golf is “The Legend of Bagger Vance”. The “Legend of Bagger Vance” is about golf and finding your authentic swing, but also about how life can send us challenges and it’s not so much the challenge that define us but our reaction to the challenge that will define us.

Bagger Vance speaks to Juno about finding his “authentic swing”, not trying to imitate someone else’s swing, but finding his own true swing. The analogies between golf tips in the movie and how to approach life abound, but it isn’t till Juno relaxes into his game, clears the mental chatter, and brings that solitary focus to his game that he finds his authentic swing.

Stephen Pressfield has written some great books, ” The Legend of Bagger Vance”, “The War of Art”, and “The Authentic Swing”. All of his books speak of finding your true North, your course not someone else’s, because if we are living life the way someone else would or playing golf as someone else does, we are not living our life or playing the game we are capable of and we are robbing the world of what we truly have to give back to the world.

Legend of Bagger Vance

Golf in the Kingdom

From the courses in the South above to the soul searching journey of Michael Murphy, the owner of Esalen Institute in Big Sur, we follow Michael’s journey to Scotland and join him in discovering the birthplace of golf. From the wind swept cliffs of Scotland to St. Andrews Golf Course we are fed some fascinating inspirations about golf.

The year is 1956. American philosophy student Michael Murphy is traveling to India when he decides to stop at the Links of Burningbush in Scotland for one last round of golf before giving up the game for good. Once on the green, however, Michael teams up with golf pro Shivas Irons, and together the two men experience a great epiphany about the game they love, and the world they live in. Once again we experience that golf is not just about the game, but about how we seize and experience life.

The Greatest Game Ever Played

A golf drama based on the true story of the 1913 US Open, where 20-year-old Francis Ouimet defeated his idol, 1900 US Open champion, Englishman, Harry Vardon. The movie is about the championing of the underdog and how golf is not so much about technique, though technique is important, it’s about the attitude you bring to the game.

Amateur golf in that era was then a sport only for the wealthy, and Ouimet came from an immigrant family that was part of the working class. Ouimet watches an exhibition by legendary British golf pro Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane) as a 7-year-old boy, and becomes very interested in golf. It’s thrilling to watch a seed planted in a little boy grow to be driving passion that no one could stop. Ouimet shows us that once again it’s focus, passion, and attitude that will give us the advantage on the golf course and in life.

Our Passion and Focus Determine Outcome

Lastly a wonderful book that has yet to be made into a movie, “Final Rounds”, by James Dobson tells of savoring his father’s last two months of life by playing some of the greatest golf courses in the world. The book is a deeply moving tribute to the love between a Dad and his son and also a rousing tribute to the game of golf and how it fosters relationships.

In Final Rounds, James Dodson offers a touching and humorous tribute to his father and the game they both loved as he tells the poignant story of his father’s last days and how they set out to celebrate them with a memorable and remarkable golf tour.

His father fell in love with golf during World War ll in France and when he finds his father has only a few months to live they plan a golfing trip of a lifetime.
Final Rounds takes us to Royal Lutham and finally to the legendary St. Andrews, where the younger Dodson discovers the secrets of the game’s mysterious allure over pros and hackers alike.

But like golf itself, “Final Rounds” is about much more than just a game: it is about a journey of discovery, the love that holds us together, how golf is a game that fosters relationships, and that a middle-age man can still learn valuable secrets of life and love from his father that he loves so much. Dobson learns what his father has always believed that passion and focus determine our outcomes. Valuable lessons are contained within the game of golf and within Dobson’s book “Final Rounds”.

Remember the next time you are on the course, play your game, swing your authentic swing, bring to the game and life the unique abilities only you possess.

Great Golf & Weather Held

Our tournament players had three days of great golf at the Santa Rosa Golf & Country 2013 Vintage Crush Tournament. The weather was great, not as hot as it can get in September in Santa Rosa. The early storm of the season was kind to us and it mainly rained at night with over an inch or more of rain. The Vintage Crush Tournament is one of the highlights of our Santa Rosa golf tournament year at Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club.

Highlights of the Crush Tournament

Martha Yates kicked off the 2013 Vintage Crush Tournament with a bagpipe sendoff to all our players.

It was a day of great golf, some changes due to weather, but a lot of fun for all who played in the tournament. We had to move the Long Drive from the 10th hole to the 9th hole due to howling wind on Saturday afternoon. Hitting towards the clubhouse, Wayne J. Ahlstrom hit it 282. Joe Scaramella hit it 272, so the “older guy” actually hit it longer.

Jimmy Pearson hit the pin on 17 on Saturday but did not win closest to the hole. Brian Lanz and David Bade made a wonderful birdie on 9 to win the Horserace.

The million dollar shoot out….. several guys missed the green all together. We had Don Mills of Sound Ideas filming the event. His “helper” Angela Young-Franzi was out with them shooting from 100 yards. While she missed on the first two swings, her final one went screaming onto the green finally stopping at 16′ 4″. It would have qualified her for the next round and been much closer than lots of the guys. No one won a million or watches. All 3 finalists, Wayne Ahlstrom, Joe Schiebold and Jay Wolcott missed the green, you wonder how that happens to three great golfers.

We of course had tons of rain Saturday morning, but the course played just fine, we were only delayed by 30 mins. Jeff Sutherland, our Superintendent, did a great job in preparing the course, the best it has been in years. Music on the course was a big hit this year, it seemed like every group had at least 1 ipod and speakers going.